Daimler and AKKA Technologies create a new leading European engineering consultancy

Daimler AG and AKKA Technologies S.A. will jointly manage the MBtech Group, an internationally leading engineering and consulting company based in Sindelfingen, in the future. The details are specified in an agreement signed by Daimler and AKKA Technologies on December 7, 2011. Subject to the approval of the antitrust authorities, AKKA Technologies will acquire a stake of 65 percent; until now, MBtech has been a 100 percent Daimler subsidiary. With a substantial equity interest of 35 percent in the future, Daimler will remain a long-term and strategic shareholder as well as an important client of MBtech.

The entry of AKKA Technologies at MBtech Group will create one of the biggest European engineering consultancies. AKKA Technologies is a listed company and is an engineering consultancy for the automotive, aeronautics, space, transport and energy sectors. In the area of aeronautics engineering, the company is already the market leader in Europe. In the future, that position will be held by AKKA Technologies and MBtech also in the automotive sector, where the Sindelfingen company has its focus.

The two companies complement each other ideally in their sectoral structure, client portfolio and regional positioning: AKKA Technologies has its main focus on France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, while MBtech has a strong market position in Germany, China and the United States.

Together with the new majority shareholder, MBtech will broaden its competence profile outside the automotive industry and expand its international market position in the coming years. Daimler and AKKA Technologies intend to jointly develop the company and to strengthen its competitiveness on a sustained basis. This will protect jobs at MBtech while offering new opportunities for the workforce in an expanded international environment.

“With AKKA Technologies, we have found a strong and well-established partner whose product offering is an ideal supplement to MBtech’s activities. Through the new partnership, MBtech will utilize market opportunities for engineering services even better than before, allowing it to participate even more in the future worldwide growth in this sector,” stated Professor Dr. Thomas Weber, Member of Daimler’s Board of Management for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. “At the same time, the enhanced competence profile of MBtech will provide important support for Daimler’s product and technology offensives,” he continued.

“AKKA Technologies was born out of a vision I once had, which I continue to pursue: ‘How we can turn the passion that our talented team has for technology into innovative solutions for our industrial customers.’ This partnership will turn that vision into a reality: with MBtech and Daimler we are embracing a whole new world of new business and career opportunities. Together, we will develop new products and services and strengthen our power to innovate,” promises Maurice Ricci, Chairman and CEO of AKKA Technologies.

AKKA Technologies employs a workforce of 7,000 people at more than 50 locations and expects to post revenue of 545 million euros in 2011.

The MBtech Group was established by Daimler AG in 1995. The company develops, integrates and tests automotive components, systems and modules, and employs 2,900 people at locations in Europe, North America and Asia. In the year 2010, it posted revenue of 300 million euros.